Sprint Epic 4G on sale today; $199 at Amazon

As promised, the Samsung Epic 4G – Sprint’s second WiMAX smartphone – has gone up for sale, offering Android fans who prefer hardware keyboards a speedy alternative to the HTC EVO 4G. Priced at $249.99 from Sprint themselves, plus of course a two-year agreement, the Epig 4G takes advantage of the carrier’s growing WiMAX coverage for up to 10x faster mobile download speeds.

As we found in our review of the Epic 4G, the smartphone is one of the best Android devices out there, and certainly makes for a strong alternative to the bestselling HTC. The physical keyboard is excellent, and the huge Super AMOLED display highly impressive.

If you’re on a budget then it’s worth heading over to Amazon, who are listing the Epic 4G for $199 (a $50 saving) when you take out a new contract through them; however they’re not expecting stock for 2-4 weeks. Whoever you buy from, plans start from $69.99 including unlimited 4G data.